MCA Students Continue Tradition of Affordable Formal Dress Resale

Students at Mount Carmel Academy are continuing their efforts to make formal attire more accessible while supporting their community. This initiative, launched several years ago by Ms. Claudia Ortega’s Spanish IV students, collects gently worn formal dresses donated by MCA students and resells them at school at an affordable price.

The program serves three key purposes: providing students with budget-friendly options for school dances, promoting sustainability by giving dresses a second life, and raising funds for class field trips and local nonprofit organizations. This year, students sold 50 dresses, with proceeds supporting a field trip exploring Spanish culture in New Orleans. The remaining dresses were donated to Puentes New Orleans, a nonprofit dedicated to fostering the inclusion of Latinos in public, political, and socio-economic life